Marine who drowned was from Wisconsin

Marine who drowned in helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam Associated Press Last Updated: May 20, 2003 A Marine who died Monday after he jumped into a canal trying to reach victims of a helicopter crash in Iraq was from Beaver Dam, Wis.

Kirk Straseskie, 23, died Monday after a Sea-Knight helicopter crashed into a canal shortly after takeoff in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad. Four Marines on the helicopter were killed, U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

Two Marines on the canal's banks jumped into the water to help, and one died trying, the military said. Iraqis and other Marines on the scene pulled those two from the water, the military said, and a recovery effort was under way for the others Tuesday afternoon.

The cause of the incident was under investigation, though the military said it appeared to be an accident.

The military has not released the names of the victims pending notification of relatives. Straseskie's father, John Straseskie, said his son was the Marine who drowned trying to rescue the others.

John Straseskie, 51, said Tuesday his son joined the Marines right after high school.

The elder Straseskie said his son joined the Marines "because he was a fighter."

More complete coverage of this story will appear online later today and in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the morning

The Creation of the Soldier

When the Lord was creating Soldiers, he was into his sixth day of overtime
when an Angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling around on this one."

And the Lord said "Have you read the specification on this person?
Soldiers have to be able to go for hours fighting or tending to a
person that the usual every day person would never touch, all the while putting
in the back of their mind the circumstances.

They have to be able to move at a moments notice and not think twice of what
they are about to do, no matter what danger.
They have to be in top physical condition at all times, running on half-eaten MRE's,
and very little sleep.

They must have six pairs of hands."
The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems, " said the Lord,
"it's the three pairs of eyes a Soldier has to have."

That's on the standard model? " asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through the smoke and haze where they and
their fellow Soldiers should fight the enemy next. Another pair here in the
side of the head to see their fellow Soldiers and keep them safe.
And a third pair of eyes in the front so that they can look for the the wounded
caught in the fight that may need their help."

"Lord" said the angel, touching his sleeve, " Rest and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't, said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 100 pounds of gear
for miles on end, or a fellow soldier to safety from a battle area, and can feed a
family of five on a Military service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the Soldier very slowly, "Can it think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. "It can tell you the parts of a hundred different pieces
of equipment; and can recite many procedures in their sleep that are needed to
care for a wounded soldier until they are taken away by the medics.
And all the while they have to keep their wits about themselves.

This Soldier also must have phenomenal personal control.
They can deal with scenes full of pain, hurt, noise and smoke,
They can be laughing and joking one second and fierce and hard in the next.

And still they rarely get the recognition for a job well done from anybody, other than from fellow Soldiers."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Soldier.
"There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades.
A tear for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the flag.
It's a tear for all the pain and suffering they have encountered.
And it's a tear for their commitment to defending our freedoms and
saving lives of their fellow man!"

"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the angel.
The Lord looked somber and said "I didn't put it there."

Reworded from a Firefighters poem, to honor our Troops 3/26/03
by David K. (aka Johnny Gage)

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